The Development of the Sekos in the Artemision of Ephesus

The Artemision of Ephesus was one of the most famous sanctuaries of the Ancient World. Since the rediscovery of the Artemision in 1869 attention was drawn especially to the built structures and the small findings. After many decades of excavations however the sequence of the archaic buildings and their function are not yet completely intelligible. The analysis of the stratigraphy and the architectonical development is a condition for every contextual publication of the findings. Important aims of the proposed research project are the textual and graphic presentation of the sequence of buildings and deposits in the Artemision, especially in the time from the earliest architectural evidence in the 7th cent. BC until the erection of the monumental courtyard temple in the 6th cent. BC. When analyzing the cultural context of the Artemision it will be necessary to prove and to define the often emphasized pecularities o fthe Ephesian temple. In the typological analysis neighboring sanctuaries in Didyma, Sardis and Samos must be included as examples for large Ionian temples. The proposed research project is an important contribution for the investigations in the process of acculturation in Western Asia Minor. Many questions e.g. conecrning the controversy about the date of the earliest coin deposits and the hypothetical origin of the Greek peripteros in Ionia could be answered by a clear and plausible history of the development of the Ephesian Artemision. The results of the projected investigation will serve as an essential basis for the interpretation of the findings and further publications.